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Saturday,
March 1, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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3 die in attack on US Consulate in Pak Security Council split on Iraq Pallone favours permanent seat for India Blair’s public support plunges
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3 die in attack on US Consulate in Pak
Karachi, February 28 The police arrested one of the assailants, caught after a chase through a nearby park, and confiscated a pistol from him. The man was identified as an Afghan national, the officials said. The unknown number of gunmen were in the park when they fired on the police post next to the heavily fortified US mission. The police sealed the park and cordoned off the area. “We did not see anybody shooting, but we heard the shooting,” said Lt Afsar, an off-duty naval officer who was nearby. At the US Embassy in Islamabad, diplomats were scrambling to get more information on the shooting. “We are trying to get details from the Pakistani authorities about it,” US Embassy spokesman Terry White said. Security has been intense around the US facility since a bombing last June killed 12 persons, all Pakistanis. Cement barricades stop vehicles from entering the area, set up to prevent car bombings. High walls surround the consulate and entry and exit from the building is closely guarded. Five suspects accused of masterminding the June bombing are on trial in the southern port city, charged with conspiracy, murder and terrorism. They face the death penalty if convicted.
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Security Council split on Iraq United Nations, February 28 Diplomats described a terrible atmosphere within the council, which met behind closed doors for four hours yesterday. The council is split between those who are supporting the Bush administration’s calls for the use of force to disarm Saddam Hussein, and others, led by the French, who want to continue weapons’ inspections. At the end of the session, French Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere said the majority of the council still opposed a US-backed draft resolution and he pushed the French proposal for additional time for inspections. US Ambassador John Negroponte didn’t speak with reporters although Washington’s quest for support on its resolution appeared to be picking up steam with several undecided council members. Still, Ambassadors who spoke on condition of anonymity said the Americans seemed unwilling to compromise in order to achieve council unity on Iraq. “This was one of the most depressing meetings I’ve seen,” said one Ambassador. Another described the atmosphere as “bitter and unpleasant”. Ambassadors said there was little actual discussion about the merits of the US resolution, which was backed by Britain and Spain, or the French proposal. And they couldn’t agree on when the chief inspectors should next report to the council or how they should proceed with their work in the meantime. BAGHDAD: Iraqi troops moved into new positions around President Saddam Hussein’s hometown and South African disarmament experts visiting Iraq appealed to the UN Security Council to give weapons inspections more time.
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Russia to use veto power, if needed Beijing, February 28 “Russia has the veto power. If needed, and under the conditions of maintaining international stability, Russia will use its veto,” Mr Ivanov said through a translator at a press conference in the Chinese capital.
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Pallone favours permanent seat for India Washington, February 28 Introducing the legislation as a “sense of the Congress”, Frank Pallone said his legislation allowed the US House of Representatives to go on record in supporting India’s bid for a permanent seat in the Security Council. “It is time for the Congress and the Bush administration to recognise the importance India plays in the region and the world and support its bid for a permanent seat at the UN Security Council,” Mr Pallone said.
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Blair’s public support plunges
London, February 28 The YouGov poll for the Daily Telegraph newspaper also showed a dramatic drop in support for Mr Blair’s Labour Government, with only 35 per cent of Britons prepared to vote for Labour compared with 42 per cent at the 2001 election. Some 64 per cent of people said their opinion of Mr Blair’s government had gone down over the past two or three years. The three main reasons given were its policy on Iraq, its perceived failure to deliver better public services and the perception it had too often misled the public. Mr Blair’s personal rating also fell with only 36 per cent of people saying they thought he would make the best Prime Minister compared with 52 per cent during the last election and similarly high ratings when he was first elected in 1997.
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US group for CBI probe into Gujarat carnage Washington, February 28 “One year after the beginning of communal violence in Gujarat that claimed over 2,000 lives, there have been no convictions of those responsible and little in the way of promised relief for victims,” the New York-based rights group said in a press note yesterday. Although the Indian Government initially “boasted of thousands of arrests” following the attacks, most of the arrested had since been released on bail, acquitted or simply let go, it alleged. The group quoted local activists as saying that those who remained in jail were largely Dalits, Muslims or tribal communities. “Because of manipulations in the filing of charge sheets, the instigators and ringleaders of the attacks may escape prosecution altogether.” “At this point, the central authorities must step in,” said Ms Smita Narula, senior researcher for South Asia and author of the Human Rights Watch report on the Gujarat violence. In large-scale massacre cases, the group said, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), a federal body, should intervene.
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Karachi, February 28
